Outline Coding of Typographical Characters

Recently Compugraphic Corporation settled a suit brought by Information International, Inc., for infringement of US Patent Re. 30,679. This patent was originally assigned to Rockwell International, and was conveyed to III when the latter purchased Rockwell's typesetting division. It is known in the U.S. as the Rockwell patent. It describes a character generation system for typographic information encoded by a means of approximations to character outlines using segments of straight lines and circular arcs. Since many typographical coding systems are based on outline approximation and coding, there is a great deal of interest in the consequences of this lawsuit for the typesetting industry.